Verdict expected today over whether she broke rules on ministerial standards when buying Hove flat
Rayner’s future in balance as lawyers say they did not offer tax advice
Angela Rayner’s political future appeared increasingly uncertain ahead of the expected Friday verdict on whether she broke ministerial standards rules over her tax affairs. It comes as lawyers she said she used for her flat purchase denied having given her tax advice.
Keir Starmer has repeatedly declined to say whether he would sack his deputy, who is also the housing secretary, if his independent ethics watchdog rules against her. The prime minister said he would “of course” act on the findings of Sir Laurie Magnus’s probe after Rayner’s acknowledgment that she failed to pay a £40,000 stamp duty surcharge on a flat she bought in Hove this year.
The advice she received is likely to form a key plank of Magnus’s investigation, after Rayner said she was incorrectly advised that she did not need to pay the higher stamp duty rate reserved for second home purchases.
